


Beautiful Mind

by twyly56



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Arkham Asylum, Attempted Brainwashing, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Ed Just Wants to Hang Out with Oswald, Escape, Friendly Edward Nygma, Grief/Mourning, Hurt Oswald Cobblepot, Ice Baths, Medical Assault, Medical Experimentation, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Mental Patient Edward Nygma, Multiple Personalities, Non-Consensual Electroconvulsive Therapy, Origami, Protective Edward Nygma, Riddles, Sweet Edward Nygma, Tiny Origami Penguins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-03 10:24:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17282303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twyly56/pseuds/twyly56
Summary: Ed has been a patient in Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane for about eight months when he meets Oswald for the first time. He is fascinated. Oswald is a bit reluctant to actually talk to him at first, but Ed is nothing if not persistent.





	1. Chapter 1

**"People's brains are just a mystery. And once you figure it out..."**

-Edward Nygma [Gotham]

Ed's focus was rudely shattered by a loud angered scream. He dropped the little pieces of newspaper he had been folding into origami animals on his empty lunch tray and moved to his feet as a metal tray was thrown across the room. It banged into the chainlink fence that divided the visitors from the inmates, falling to the floor with a loud clang. Helzinger let out another roar and stomped toward Rudy. The smaller man held up his hands, and he ran around the table to get away from him. 

"I HATE YOU!" Helzinger yelled at Rudy. 

"D-don't! Please! Please don't!" Rudy begged, holding his hands out in front of himself. 

"Please do!" Charles encouraged from his spot on top of the table behind Rudy, his smile manic and overjoyed at the thought of violence. "Squeeze the life from him! Kill him! Kill him now!" 

"D-d-don't!" Rudy pleaded. 

Ed pushed himself between the two men, making sure they were at least five feet apart. 

"Are you two fighting again?" he asked. 

"He called me fat!" Helzinger said. He pointed his finger at Rudy. The smaller man spluttered fearfully. 

"I d-didn't do anything. It - it wasn't me," Rudy told him. "It was Lucy." 

Ed shut his eyes briefly and nodded with a small sigh. 

"The fifth personality again. Such a nasty attitude," Ed said. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and turned to Helzinger. "See, this gets complicated. See, Lucy is in his head." He gestured to Rudy with his hand. "Because Rudy has what's called Multiple Personal-" 

"In his head?" Helzinger growled. He seemed to be angrier than before. The man lunged forward, screaming at Rudy something unintelligible. Ed was squashed in between them as Helzinger grabbed Rudy by the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. He held out his hands, placing them on both of their chests. 

"No! No no no. She's, uh, she's a ghost!" Ed said quickly. 

Helzinger let go of Rudy's shirt like he had been burned. His eyes were wide. 

"What the-" he sputtered. 

"Yes. And she makes Rudy say things that he doesn't want to say," Ed said. 

He looked off into the corner of the room and gasped dramatically. The other inmates looked at him, equally confused and frightened. 

"I can see her," Ed said. He walked forward and climbed onto the table, stepping across it to the floor on the other side. "Lucy! You've got some nerve making old Rudy say things like that." He bent over by the chainlink fence like he was talking to a small girl. "You know that Helzinger is _not_ fat. In fact, you said that Helzinger was handsome." 

He gasped and stumbled back a little like he had been pushed. 

"Oh, don't you shove me!" Ed said. He made a pushing motion at the air in front of him and moved his hands lower to make a sharp clap. He touched his face. "Ah! She slapped me!" He made a stern face and bent down again. "Now let me tell you something, Lucy. You will leave Rudy alone. And if you come back here again, you'll have to deal with me." Ed smiled and straightened himself. "Thank you, Lucy." He made a little ta-da motion with his hands after he turned to face the other inmates.

"She really made you say all that?" Helzinger asked Rudy. 

Ed nodded at Rudy, and the smaller man swallowed nervously. 

"Ye-yeah. W-w-wasn't me," he said. 

"Sorry," Helzinger muttered. 

"Hey," Ed said happily, clapping his hands together. 

"Lucy really thinks I'm handsome?" Helzinger asked him. 

"Yeah. Isn't that right, Luc-" Ed cut off mid word, and his brown eyes narrowed at the sight of Detective James Gordon. "What is he doing here?" 

Ed walked over to the part of the fence that Jim was walking by, and he placed his hands on the chainlink, looping his fingers in the grooves. He smiled sweetly at the detective. 

"Hello, _Jimmy,_ " Ed said. 

"Go to hell, Ed," Jim shot back. 

"Oh, you've already put me there. Here," Ed said. He motioned at his surroundings and chuckled. "But not for long, my friend. Because this place is just one big puzzle, and puzzles are my forte. Nobody beats me." 

Jim strode closer to the chainlink fence and looked him in the eye. He smiled coldly. 

"I did. See you never, Ed," the detective said. He walked off into the part of the hall that Ed couldn't see, yellow manila folder tucker under his arm. 

"That's what you think," Ed muttered when he was out of earshot. 

A man with spiky black hair wearing a sweater over a collared shirt was escorted into the place where the new inmates were given their supplies. He walked with a limp in his right leg. Ed was intrigued. Why did he seem familiar? Hmm. Despite his rather plain appearance, when their eyes met briefly, the stranger's irises pale clear green color, Ed felt like he had been electrocuted. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Ooh, that was interesting. This strange person practically exuded danger. He was a _predator._  And, oh, how Ed loved it! The new man glanced away, pursing his lips. Ed tapped his fingers on the metal links. 

"What has no hands but might knock on your door, and if it does you better open up?" he whispered to himself excitedly. He clapped his hands together with a smile. "Opportunity!" 

" **I suppose I can agree with that as well,** " his other self said. He was leaning against the chainlink fence a few feet away from him, wearing, as always, his neat green suit and bowler hat. 

"Oh, there you are. Where have you been? I haven't seen you in weeks!" Ed exclaimed softly. 

" **It's just been so dull. You've had nothing that put you in danger or presented as an opportunity for me as of yet,** " his counterpart said in a succinct tone. 

"Now you're interested, hmm?" Ed prodded, his lips tilting up. 

" **Perhaps. It's a bit soon to tell,** " the Riddler said. He crossed his arms over his chest. " **Hopefully I am still interested later. None of these in here so far are even close to our mental capacity.** " 

"I know what you mean," Ed sighed. "But then again, you have always had ridiculously high standards."

His other self rolled his eyes, uncrossing his arms. 

" **Whatever you say, Eddie,** " he said. 

"Don't call me that," Ed told him. "You know I hate that name." 


	2. Chapter 2

Oswald sat down with his lunch tray with bland Arkham fare at an empty table away from the other inmates. He blinked when a tall man a few years younger than himself sat down across from him. He had one of those faces that you just forgot as soon as you looked away. The inmate had brown hair that looked like it had been brushed to the side, but it was mostly just a wavy mess now. He had square glasses on his face that framed his brown eyes. He had a small stack of newspapers under his tray. Oswald was doing his best to not murder anyone on his first day in Arkham, so he just looked up from his tray of food and fixed the younger man with a stare, raising an eyebrow. 

"Can I help you?" Oswald asked. His voice came out sharp and irritated, just on the wrong side of polite. The inmate just smiled and cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy. 

"I don't think so. Can you?" the man said.  

Oswald let out a breath and pressed his lips together. 

"What do you want?" he asked.

The inmate stared intently at him. He laced his fingers together, and he placed them in his lap. He had a very boyish smile. 

"What I want the poor have, the rich need, and if you eat it, you'll die," the man replied cheerfully. 

He frowned and almost did a double take. 

"Is this - are you asking me a riddle?" Oswald said. 

"Do you like riddles?" the man asked him. 

"No," Oswald said. He shook his head. 

"So do you give up?" the man asked. 

Oswald let out a short laugh and frowned at him. 

"Friend, look-" he started to say. The inmate cut him off. 

"The answer is nothing! The poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it, you'll-" the man said. 

Oswald waved his hand to get him to stop talking. 

"Who are you?" he asked. The younger man smiled brightly at him. 

"Edward. Nygma. I know who you are," the inmate told him. He sounded bizarrely happy about that fact. Oswald gave him a cool smile. 

"Then you know that you're sitting too close," he said. 

Edward looked at the space between them, and he grabbed the sides of his metal lunch tray. The younger man scooted approximately a foot to the left. Oswald picked up his plastic spork and poked his lump of green beans. 

"Did you know that male emperor penguins keep their eggs warm by balancing them on their feet?" Edward asked. He emphasized the 't' with a little 'tuh' sound, flicking his tongue against his teeth. He grinned at Oswald. "Isn't that neat?" 

Oswald put his spork back down, and he looked the younger man in the eye. His tolerance of this crazy stranger was at its limit. 

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Oswald said irritably. He smiled without any humor or warmth. He looked back down at his tray and resolutely refused to look back at the other man. He was pissed off enough as it was. He didn't need this idiot making fun of his name. He missed Edward's little frown. Edward moved another half a foot to the left and started to quietly eat his lunch. 

When Oswald got up to throw his trash and put his tray away, a large glob of beans slapped him in the face. It slid down the side of his face and plopped off to splat on the cement floor. He gasped in surprise at the feeling and wiped it off with the back of his hand. He heard laughter behind him, and he turned around, fire in his eyes. 

"Penguin pie!" one of the inmates cackled, pointing his finger at him. 

Oswald felt his hands shake a little as rage filled him. He walked over to the nearest table and planted his foot on the bench, pushing himself to stand on the top of the table. He kicked off the nearest inmate's tray, and it hit the floor with a clatter. Food spilled over the floor. The inmate looked up at him with a confused expression. 

"There seems to be some confusion. My name is Oswald Cobblepot. No doubt many of you have heard of me. Some of you clearly have not. For those poor ignorant souls, I offer illumination," Oswald said. He paced back and forth on the table, stepping between the inmates' trays of food. He chuckled darkly. "I am not a man to be trifled with. I am powerful. I am vicious. I am King of Gotham." He stepped down from the table. 

"I am King of Gotham!" an inmate with frizzy brown hair called out. 

"I'm the King!" another one snickered. 

The inmate that had thrown the beans at him jumped onto his table and started cackling. He flapped his arms up and down like a mad bird, jumping on the tabletop. The other inmates were all standing up, cheering him on. 

"I'm the King of Gotham! I'm the King! Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye!" he mocked, making wild gestures with his hands. 

Oswald sat down on the nearest bench, and he heard them cackling and talking loudly around him. He sighed and shut his eyes briefly. He wiped at his cheek again to get the bean residue off. A napkin was brushed under his nose, almost literally. Oswald jolted in shock, and he glanced up at Edward. The younger man held out the napkin to him. Oswald eyed him suspiciously before he snatched it out of his hand and rubbed viciously it against his dirty cheek. Edward turned to the woman cackling next to him and placed his hand on her shoulder. 

"Lo sé. Tu eres un rey. Solo dame un momento ¿Por favor?" he said in a smooth torrent of Spanish. The woman bobbed her head, her wild black hair bouncing. She jumped over to another table. "¡Gracias!" he called after her. Edward looked back at Oswald. He smiled warmly. "You just have to know how to talk to them." 

"I don't need your _help,_ " Oswald snapped in irritation. He crumpled up the napkin and threw it on the floor. He stalked away from him to go sit at another table. 


End file.
